MORE OREGONIANS USE MEDICINAL WEED

EUGENE, Ore. -- Five years after Oregon passed its groundbreaking
medical-marijuana law, it seems to be experiencing a boom.

A recent round of favorable federal-court rulings appears to have prompted
more ailing Oregonians to seek state-issued cards allowing them to smoke,
grow and possess marijuana and at the same time emboldened more doctors to
endorse the practice.

From Oct. 20, 2003, to Jan. 2, the number of people holding the cards
jumped from 6,040 to 7,584, a 25 percent increase, state records show.

Since February 2003, the number of cardholders has increased by two-thirds.
Multnomah County, which includes Portland, tops the state with 1,043
cardholders. Lane County, which includes Eugene, is second with 763
cardholders.

Some 4,601 Oregonians have registered as caregivers, which means they have
some responsibility for a patient's well-being, including growing marijuana
for them.

Since October, the number of doctors in the program has risen 5 percent,
from 1,223 to 1,280.

Oregon's law, passed by voters in 1998 and enacted in 1999, allows people
with specified illnesses to use and grow small amounts of marijuana without
fear of prosecution as long as a doctor says it might help their condition.
Qualified patients pay a $150 fee to the state; the fee is reduced to $50
for people on disability or the Oregon Health Plan.

Nine states -- including Washington -- have passed laws permitting people
to use marijuana for medical purposes. The state laws conflict with federal
statutes, which classify marijuana as an illegal drug with no legitimate
medical purpose.

Many court cases have pitted federal authorities against medical-marijuana
advocates, and in recent rulings, federal judges are siding with the states.

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
ruling that federal drug agents couldn't punish doctors for recommending
medical marijuana to their ill patients. The appeals court ruled that the
federal government had no authority to interfere with the right of
physicians to speak candidly with their patients.

Last month, a 9th Circuit panel ruled that it was unconstitutional for
federal drug agents to prosecute medical-marijuana patients in states with
laws that allow the practice. The case is expected to be appealed to the
Supreme Court.